Georges St-Pierre: Ability to renegotiate contract in light of Reebok deal could make or break UFC return

For those asking if the GSP quote is real pic.twitter.com/hocuH7JGCd

— caposa (@GrabakaHitman) April 18, 2016

He’s been doing more mixed martial arts (MMA) related interviews and even straying from the norm and attending Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events. So could it be that Georges St-Pierre is finally ready to mount a comeback?

He very well could be.

But during his recent interview on The MMA Hour, “Rush” broke the hearts of fight fans around the world by saying he still has no official announcement or contract at the moment. However, a glimmer of light emerged, as he also confirmed that there are actual negotiations going on between his management group and UFC.

Furthermore, the former welterweight champion of the world briefly touched on two important factors that have to go down in order for him to make his return, which is a rearranging of his contract due to the new Reebok deal. More importantly, though, he plans on going through rigorous MMA training to see if he can still hang following a rotator cuff injury.

If all goes well, “GSP” says he will give the thumbs up.

“There’s a lot of things to consider. First, I had a little injury the last few weeks that was bothering me, my shoulder, my rotator cuff. I was supposed to do my training camp to test myself to see how I feel and see if I can get through it to see if I can keep competing. I was not able to do it because I got a little injury that was bothering me. Now this thing is out of the way, now I am doing a training to see if I feel good, then I will give the thumbs up to my management to really talk to UFC more seriously to see what happens. There are other issues, too. A big issue is that when I was on contract, the Reebok deal wasn’t in place. So now because of the Reebok deal it changed a lot of things in my contract. We need to renegotiate maybe a new contract because I am not allowed to wear my sponsors anymore and I lose money. It depends how it goes down with UFC on the contract and we will see what happens.”

So close, yet so far way.

As far as being offered a title fight against current 170-pound champion Robbie Lawler this July at UFC 200, “Rush” revealed he couldn’t comment on that.

Still, based on St-Pierre’s comments, it seems an MMA comeback could be around the corner. And seeing as how he claims to be in the best shape of his life, it appears the one major hurdle boils down to the much-criticized Reebok deal.

It’s a deal that has caused many a fighter to bolt for greener pastures. Whether or not it eventually has the same effect on one of the greatest to ever compete in the sport, remains to be seen.

The anticipation, meanwhile, keeps mounting.

He’s been doing more mixed martial arts (MMA) related interviews and even straying from the norm and attending Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events. So could it be that Georges St-Pierre is finally ready to mount a comeback?

He very well could be.

But during his recent interview on The MMA Hour, “Rush” broke the hearts of fight fans around the world by saying he still has no official announcement or contract at the moment. However, a glimmer of light emerged, as he also confirmed that there are actual negotiations going on between his management group and UFC.

Furthermore, the former welterweight champion of the world briefly touched on two important factors that have to go down in order for him to make his return, which is a rearranging of his contract due to the new Reebok deal. More importantly, though, he plans on going through rigorous MMA training to see if he can still hang following a rotator cuff injury.

If all goes well, “GSP” says he will give the thumbs up.

“There’s a lot of things to consider. First, I had a little injury the last few weeks that was bothering me, my shoulder, my rotator cuff. I was supposed to do my training camp to test myself to see how I feel and see if I can get through it to see if I can keep competing. I was not able to do it because I got a little injury that was bothering me. Now this thing is out of the way, now I am doing a training to see if I feel good, then I will give the thumbs up to my management to really talk to UFC more seriously to see what happens. There are other issues, too. A big issue is that when I was on contract, the Reebok deal wasn’t in place. So now because of the Reebok deal it changed a lot of things in my contract. We need to renegotiate maybe a new contract because I am not allowed to wear my sponsors anymore and I lose money. It depends how it goes down with UFC on the contract and we will see what happens.”

So close, yet so far way.

As far as being offered a title fight against current 170-pound champion Robbie Lawler this July at UFC 200, “Rush” revealed he couldn’t comment on that.

Still, based on St-Pierre’s comments, it seems an MMA comeback could be around the corner. And seeing as how he claims to be in the best shape of his life, it appears the one major hurdle boils down to the much-criticized Reebok deal.

It’s a deal that has caused many a fighter to bolt for greener pastures. Whether or not it eventually has the same effect on one of the greatest to ever compete in the sport, remains to be seen.

The anticipation, meanwhile, keeps mounting.